Rome Reports

Good News from The Beacon

What would you be willing to give up to follow Jesus? Last week, Bishop Serratelli posed that provocative question to a group of young men of the Diocese — teenagers, who have just begun to think about their vocation — on Feb. 5 at a “Pizza with the Bishop” vocations-awareness evening at Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Clare Parish in Clifton Feb. 9, where he was principal celebrant of the vigil Mass for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the Mass, the Bishop blessed red candles for parishioners to mark the upcoming feast of St. Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Lourdes (OLL) Parish in Paterson on Feb. 3, where he celebrated Mass for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the Mass, the Bishop named Father Raimundo Rivera, who has been serving as administrator at the parish, as pastor effective Feb. 11.

C.J. looks sharp in his suit and tie, as he “boogies down” to club hits and classics with friends on a darkened dance floor speckled with white and blue light. He and his pals seem busy soaking up the music, fun and friendship of this night of nights and, for a few hours, forgetting about mental or physical limitations that make their lives challenging.

When people visit a museum, they are able to see a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical or scientific importance. But through the “Treasures of the Church” exposition, the faithful have the opportunity to view more than 150 relics of saints, contained in reliquaries, which goes beyond simply seeing a museum exhibit. It is a moment of evangelization and a re-energizing of the faith life of all who view them.

What a contrast in emotions! In President Trump’s State of the Union address last week, he honored the important role women play in society, pointing to the fact that there are more women serving in Congress now than at any time in the nation’s history.

Bishop Serratelli visited St. Cecilia Parish here on Feb. 3 to serve as the main celebrant of the 3:30 p.m. Mass with the faith community’s Vietnamese Catholics to commemorate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The celebration began with a procession, followed by the liturgy. The Mass marked the Vietnamese New Year — the Year of the Pig, which took place on Feb. 5 this year — and was celebrated in both English and Vietnamese in St. Cecilia’s Church by priests of the Rockaway parish and visiting Vietnamese priests. According to the Vietnamese calendar, the New Year marks the year 4717. The New Year celebrations, called Tet, are the most important celebration in the Vietnamese culture.

Students sit captivated as Bishop Serratelli explains how, in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus alters a story well known to the Jewish people of his time to make a point about both God’s judgment and his limitless mercy. It feels familiar for this former seminary professor to lead a class about the Parables of Jesus, as he tells his students that, in his version of the story, Jesus reverses the fates of the two men: the Rich Man, who fails to help Lazarus, a beggar, is carried to Hades, while Lazarus is carried to Heaven.